In a drivetrain of a motor vehicle, a device for transmitting torque is used between a drive motor and a gear unit, in order on the one hand to be able to control the flow of torque between the drive motor and the transmission, in particular by producing or interrupting the flow, and on the other hand to damp or cancel non-uniformities in the rotary motion. In one variant, a hydrodynamic torque converter is used to transmit the torque. The hydrodynamic converter comprises a pump wheel and a turbine wheel, which are coupled with each other hydrodynamically by means of a fluid. The level of a torque transmitted by the converter can be dependent on a difference between the rotational speeds of the pump wheel and the turbine wheel. The hydrodynamic converter makes it possible to prevent the drive motor of the motor vehicle from stopping when the rotational speed in the gear unit drops to zero. The drive motor may comprise an internal combustion engine, in particular a reciprocating engine.
A non-uniformity of the rotary motion of the input side or output side of the named device may be reduced or insulated between the input and the output side by means of different known elements. For example, a centrifugal pendulum may be connected to a rotating element of the device. The centrifugal pendulum includes a pendulum flange, to which a pendulum mass is movably attached in the plane of rotation. If the rotary motion of the pendulum flange is accelerated or retarded, the pendulum mass is deflected radially inward or radially outward, which enables energy to be absorbed or released, so that the acceleration or retardation of the rotary motion is counteracted. The centrifugal pendulum may be employed in particular to eliminate torsional vibrations.